domingo, 20 de março de 2016

Classroom participation

Top 12 Ways to Increase Student Participation

Call it "active learning," or "classroom participation" -- every teacher wants to know how to motivate students to
participate, and how to nurture more involved students and fewer
apathetic ones. With a little extra planning, that is possible.

Problem: The content is repetitive.

Maybe it needs to be
repetitive because the students don’t really “get it,” or maybe you’re
reviewing for a test. In any case, they’re tuning out.

Solution #1: Assess their prior knowledge.

This could be as
simple as asking students, “What do you know about (topic)?” and writing
their responses on the board. You could also try a pre-test or a
graphic organizer like a K-W-L chart.
The goal is to find out what they already know (or think they know).
You create buy-in for the students because they feel smart, and you can
tailor your lesson to the information they don’t know or don’t remember
correctly.

Solution #2: Try skills grouping.

Divide the class into
groups based on what skills they need to practice – not forever, but for
a class period or two, so they can focus on what they really need help
with. So have a group that works on multiplying fractions, one on
dividing fractions, and one on converting fractions to decimals. Make a
group of “already got 100% on the test” kids and give them an extra
credit activity or let them preview the next lesson. Then take time to
move between the other groups and help them review. You’ll have more
students engaged in the lesson and they’ll get specific, focused
practice time.

Solution #3: Let them teach each other.

Especially good when
reviewing before a test: divide the class into groups and give each
group a topic. Set some guidelines and then let them teach each other.
Encourage them to do interesting activities – write tests for each
other, design review games, etc. – and evaluate each group on the
accuracy of their content, the creativity of their approach, and how
well they work together as a team. This is also a great way to discover how to motivate students.

Problem: The content is too hard.

This is really half
the problem. The other half – especially with older students – is their
fear of “looking stupid” by asking questions.

Solution #1: Allow anonymous questions.

Put out a “question
box” where students can submit questions any time. Give each student an
index card and ask them to write something about the reading assignment
they did for homework. If they don’t have a question, instruct them to
write a comment on the reading. Collect the cards and use them to lead a
class discussion. You’ll easily recognize what parts of the reading
confused a lot of students and they won’t feel embarrassed.

Solution #2: Allow them to work together.

We can’t do this all
the time; individual students need to be assessed. Ask yourself: is the
goal of this activity for them to learn the content, or for them to be
assessed? If you want them to learn the content, why not let them work
together? When they bring in their homework, do a quick survey for
completeness, then put them in pairs and let them review the homework
together. Encourage them to make changes if their partner’s answer looks
right. When they’ve finished, review as a class. Students may be less
embarrassed to share a group’s answer than their own and you may be able
to complete the review more quickly.

Solution #3: Try a jigsaw approach.

No, we’re not talking
about puzzles or scary movies. If you’re introducing new, difficult
content, divide the class into groups and ask each group to master only
one portion of it at a time. If, for example, you’re teaching the
American Revolution, have one group focus on the Continental Congress,
one on Washington’s Army, one on French support for the war, and so on.

Ask them to do a
reading on their topic – to become the class “experts” on that subject.
Then split up the class into new groups that include one “expert” on
each topic. Ask these new groups to work together to write an essay or
complete a worksheet that requires information about all the topics.
They will teach each other in the process. Learn more about the Jigsaw Approach.

Problem: There’s too much information to present in too short a time.

Sometimes there’s no
way around it: you simply have to get a lot of information out there in a
short amount of time. So you opt for a lecture and just want your
students to absorb the content. Instead, they fall asleep or stare out
the window. What can you do?

Solution #1: Keep it “bite-sized.”

Remember: research
shows the average student’s attention span is as long as her age. So
even high school kids can only handle about 15 minutes. If you have a
lot of information to convey, re-arrange your lesson plans so you never
lecture for more than 10-15 minutes.

Break up large
concepts into smaller sections – give a brief lecture, then do an
activity to help it “sink in.” Repeat this process over several days.
You’ll increase participation – and improve comprehension, too.

Solution #2: Keep them busy.

Don’t allow students
to stare into space while you talk. Give them something to stay
connected. Try “fill in the blank” lecture notes. Delete key words and
phrases in your lecture notes to create a “fill in the blank” worksheet.
Then ask students to fill in the worksheet while you lecture. Another
fun variation – lecture bingo.

Solution #3: Look into the future.

Before a lecture, give
students a prediction activity. For example, tell them you will be
lecturing on Shakespeare and ask them to predict what you will say, or
give them a set of true/false statements and ask them to take their best
guess.

As you lecture, instruct students to compare their guesses with what you actually say.

When the lecture is over, have a class discussion and evaluate how accurate student predictions were.

Problem: The lesson emphasizes the teacher, not the students.

Solution #1: Keep them busier than you are.

The traditional
classroom of yesteryear had the teacher at the front of the room,
droning on while students doze. Re-imagine your classroom as a place
where students are busier than you are.

Keep the “sit still
and let me talk to you” moments as brief as possible; get those kids
working! Give them worksheets, activities, discussions, and projects.
That doesn’t mean you get to sit around -- you will still be busy,
moving from student to student or group to group, correcting,
evaluating, or providing feedback. But now everyone is busy and
involved.

Solution #2: Use groups.

Homogeneous grouping?
Heterogeneous grouping? Tracking? Forget the buzz words: having students
work in groups is one of the best ways to increase student
participation. Don’t keep them in the same groups all the time –give
them a chance to be the “smart kid” who can help someone one day and the
kid who needs help the next.

Take a traditional
worksheet or activity and give it to students in groups. Offer a reward
to the group who finishes first with the most answers correct and watch
them go! Note: it helps to have additional prizes available to keep
groups motivated after the first group “wins.” Even high school students
enjoy these competitions.

Solution #3: Give them a voice and a choice.

Do students ever get a “say” in your
classroom? Of course you need to make most decisions, but there must be
some things you could leave up to them – whether it’s what color chalk
you use today or how long they practice a specific activity.

Kids tune out because they feel like their
ideas don’t matter. Show them their opinions are important and they’ll
pay better attention and speak up more in class.

There will always be some unreachable student
who won’t respond, even with these efforts. But if you give these a try,
you may be presently surprised at the previously unreachable students
who just might join in!